Gender-affirming care cannot lawfully be considered ‘child abuse’ according to ruling early this month.
On Feb. 22, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate gender-affirming treatment for transgender children as “child abuse” via a directive letter. The DFPS was told to investigate parents and guardians of children who are helping their children to receive and access treatment such as puberty blockers and hormone blockers, as well as the facilities that administer them.
The directive followed a nonbinding legal opinion from State Attorney General Ken Paxton delivered on Feb. 18 that claimed gender affirming care and surgery are “child abuse.”
“I feel like every year something just so destructive happens in Texas that attacks a group of people,” Christian Gentile, an Austin, Texas-native and first-year illustration student at Parsons School of Design, said. “At this point I see it and I’m just filled with rage.”
On Mar. 11, Judge Amy Clark Meachum of Travis County temporarily blocked investigations into nine families of trans children, calling Abbott’s actions “unconstitutional” because they encroached on the legislative arm of the government. Meachum stated in the ruling that gender-affirming care is not a reason for the state to investigate families for child abuse, and that her ruling will remain in effect until higher courts hear this case.
Texas lawmakers have tried and failed in the past few years to pass legislation that outlaws gender affirming care and surgery for children with gender dysphoria, as well as restricting transgender presence in public spaces. In spring of 2021, a bill that would have required public school transgender atheletes to play on teams that match their sex assigned at birth, known as TX SB 29, passed the state Senate but died in the House. SB 1311, a bill proposed in May 2021, would have prevented health care providers from giving transgender patients treatment and revoking the license of any doctor who did provide transition care, though it also died in the House,
The DFPS has begun investigating families and parents of trans kids around the state. Many parents of trans children are hesitant to speak up in fear of being investigated by the state. Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of a family who was being investigated, and won after a judge blocked the investigation. However, the state appealed the order, allowing DFPS to continue investigating families.
Lambda Legal Senior Attorney Shelly Skeen told a local Dallas news show that the governor’s directive and Child Protective Services actions do not comply with the law.
Along with this directive, Texas State websites also removed LGBTQ+ suicide prevention resources — though not for the first time. In August of 2021 Texas officials removed a web page titled “Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation,” the link to which still does not work.
President Joe Biden responded to the bill in a statement on March 2, saying it threatened to harm children and their families for political gain.
Lawmakers and advocates continue to propose anti-trans legislation across the nation — a bill in Idaho that would have criminalized medical treatments for trans youth was just blocked by the state senate.
In response to these bills, Gentile, who is nonbinary, hopes others will give donations for people in need of transition therapies, as well as provide emotional support to those impacted by the laws.
“I don’t plan on going through any transitions, so it doesn’t physically impact any movements that I’m making, but I know a lot of people who have been scared to lose any therapies that they are going through,” Gentile said.
The following organizations and resources advocate for and provide services to transgender people in Texas:
- Transgender Education Network of Texas: works to create more gender diversity in Texas through education and networking
- Equality Texas: tries to secure equality for LGBT+ Texans through education, community organizing, and collaborating
- Trans Formations Project: fights anti-trans legislation by tracking and educating about anti-trans legislation in the United States
- Trans Lifeline: a hotline that offers emotional and financial support to trans people
- Transgender Law Center: fights for liberation and against discrimination by changing laws and policies
A version of this article appeared in the Spring 2022 International IA version of this article appeared in the Spring 2022 International Issue of The New School Free Press. Read more stories from the print issue here.